But, I had to stop in and let you folks know what a fantastic time I had…and also to rave about “Scoutie Girl” Tara Gentile & “Crafting an MBA” Megan Auman’s newest venture – The Creative Empire. They both have been such huge inspirations to me…they make me think about WHY I’m doing something with my little business, which leads me to understand a bit more about HOW I’m doing, and whether it’s a path I want to pursue. Megan has awesome advice on her blog about the nuts and bolts of running a creative business. She’s been “in the trenches” so to speak of running a handmade business, and so when she has advice to give, I know it’s been hard earned and well thought out! Tara, well she’s an inspiration to me! Her writing about WHY we should buy handmade speaks to my own beliefs…her 52 weeks to blogging your passion ebook has been a great help to my blogging on a daily basis.

Their newest venture is a creative community of support, training, and big ideas. I jumped on board the minute they opened it and I’m so glad I did. We’ve had some great conversations about where our businesses are headed, and some great brainstorms (with actionable advice) on how to grow our businesses. Am I an affiliate of this group – heck yeah! I love what they’re doing, and I’m proud to be part of it! So click on over and explore a bit more…and if you join, well that’s awesome. But whether you do or not, I hope you applaud folks who are doing their darndest to explain to the outside world why buying hand made is the RIGHT thing to do…and doing their darndest within our handmade community to help us be the best business-folk we can be!

The Creative Empire is a post from: Candied Fabrics

You know, I’m not gonna say much about how the time has just flown by – it’s NO GOOD beating a dead horse! My best laid plans did not work out – instead I filmed 2 episodes of Quilting Arts TV and did some major home redecorating. Nothing at all to complain about!

And…my next “Ask Candy” post is up over at alamodeSTUFF! Between this new column and my monthly home dec tutorials over at Lillyella (did you see the bamboo flooring tute last Friday?) I’ve really been spreading my wings a bit – woot!

August Goals

You know, Megan, over at Crafting an MBA, wrote a post today called “Pushing the Flywheel”, which is about building momentum for your business. It couldn’t have come at a better time for me! The publications and TV spots that have happened for me these past few months didn’t just appear out of nowhere, they’re the culmination of years of work coupled with a bit of moxie! When the articles come out and the TV show airs, I’m not gonna have instant crazy time sales. But slowly, I hope to have more people out there interested in my work and an increase in sales would be grand!

September Goals

Sorry this has all been a bit random tonight – I’ve been up since o’dark o’clock, and I’ve got to get me head together for tomorrow – it’s time for this bag to have it’s 5 minutes of fame!

September Meetup Goals is a post from: Candied Fabrics

It’s amazing how wanting just a couple of functions (nested comments and small excerpts) can trigger such a HUGE amount of work – LOL! But I’m really happy with this new design. Mary has really been an awesome help – she is a CSS goddess…and I’m really happy to be setting up shop with her! Her personal blog is here: go say hi!

I also need to give a shout out to Tara Gentile! This amazing Scoutie Girl has really inspired and empowered me to venture into this world of code! It is totally awesome to be able to control how I present myself to the world! Yes, it is also a TON of work…but something I find intensely gratifying!

New Website Design is a post from: Candied Fabrics

I wanted to pop in and tell you that my next tutorial over at Lillyella’s is up: I detail how we install bamboo/hardwood floor. Go take a look, and then grab your tape measure and start dreaming/planning – because you could do your own!

Have a great weekend!

Yes you CAN install bamboo/hardwood flooring is a post from: Candied Fabrics

So, why am I nervous? The camera.

I do not like cameras. They show someone I’m not familiar with – me…only bigger.

I’ve struggled with my weight most of my life, and I’ve never gotten my act together. I’ve often been too busy making, laughing, reading, teaching, doing, to take the time to eat healthily and exercise.

I do not like to see pictures of myself. Not that many exist. But in order to be on TV, this must happen. I must be thankful for the attention to my work this opportunity brings. I am trusting that the camera will not be focussing on my thighs, or my behind. I’m trusting that the people behind the camera know better angles than my husband does when he takes pictures of me opening birthday presents each year – some of them are truly God awful!

I don’t mind this picture:

Of course I’ve got something to hide behind!

This picture I took myself for the Studios magazine feature (it was a requirement).(You can see the remote in my right hand…I took about 50 pictures and felt like an idiot the whole time).

Angie took this picture at Sand Harbor this summer…

I try to look at the whole picture, I really do…but all I see is the fat neck.

Dear Lord, please let there be something more interesting to see on the TV screen than my fat neck!

I will breath, and concentrate on being clear and not babbling while I show people how I make this bag, and these houses, these things I make from white fabric and dye, these bits of color in invest so much energy into, that bring me such joy when they are done, please see that and not that fat loud redhead.

alamodestuff Linda has started a weekly meetup based on taking a moment each week to really notice something as you go about your daily grind life. I need to do this. You may want to too – read more about it here:

One Moment: Getting Over Myself is a post from: Candied Fabrics